No, not the fine 1990 film starring Marlin Brando, Matthew Broderick, Bruno Kirby, and Penelope Ann Miller. No, this one is me from 1971 or 1972. This is my freshman yearbook picture from De La Salle High School in New Orleans. Sorry about the graininess. Do I look like I could pass for a cop or any adult for that matter? Three of my classmates from Our Lady of Perpetual Help Grammar School chose De La Salle. One of them ended up having the exact same 7 classes as me and the other had five classes with us. Mom would drop me off at Lee's Circle in the New Orleans Central Business District and I'd catch the streetcar to school. It was 43 city blocks. I don't remember much about freshman year but I do remember initiation week. On Monday through Thursday, the freshmen had to wear a beanie and had to do pretty much whatever the seniors told them to do from 7AM until 4PM if I remember correctly. It could be carrying books, singing the fight song, doing leap frog with other freshman, etc. Mostly tame stuff. That brings me to the next photo.
The Line - De La Salle High School - 1971
On Friday, we had to walk the line. The line was a roped-off gauntlet. The seniors would line up along the outside of one of the ropes. The freshmen then walked between the ropes and the seniors would throw stuff at them. 75% of the time, it was a mixture of flour and water. Every fourth year, though, the seniors could throw pretty much whatever they wanted ... within reason. We were the fourth year and the last year this was allowed. Flour and water is nasty, folks. What those seniors threw at us went way, way beyond nasty. We're talking flour and water, rotten eggs, molasses, cat litter (Unused we hope but no one was sure), all manner of non-toxic household products, and then there was the big one. It was an X-factor. None of the previously mentioned components worried us that much but there was one that frightened us big time and that was a fairly new product on the market then called Nair. The ads on TV showed women putting it on their legs and then wiping it and all of their hair off with a rag. What??? Our hair was a big deal to us in those days. We were scared to death of Nair. Our fears were unfounded, of course. I doubt that stuff would have had any effect stirred in with those vile mixtures. One of the seniors had a garbage can full of some concoction that was bubbling. I have no idea who those guys are in the picture but I looked just like them when I was done. All of us threw our clothes away. This was the year BEFORE De La Salle got air conditioning. The schoolyard stunk for a solid 6 weeks and we had to cope with all of the windows open in the September/October New Orleans heat and you probably have an idea what heat does for an already noxious odor.
Quote of the Day
There's a kind of freedom in being completely screwed because you know things can't get any worse.
Clark Kellogg, The Freshman
Blog of the day here.
Quote from said blog: "So, nothing terribly deep here except that I stirred up the Buddhist zombie hordes again and I should get back to practice. E-Sangha can screw off into the hell realms of Internet bully-boys once again."
Love the cartoon. -Rob
Nope, you don't look like you could pass as an adult and neither did I at that age. I did have a friend named Joel who at age 15 could buy beer for us(drinking age was 18 or 19 then). Great pic of The Line. Nothing like that in any of the schools I went to.
I didn't have to pass, Dave. All I had to do was say it was for my dad or mom. Sometime in the late 70s or early 80s, Louisiana put a stop to that practice but there's really no way to keep minors from drinking if they're so inclined.
One other thing: I had just showered (I showered at school and then again when I got home) and was headed to the streetcar stop when the last freshmen were getting to the end of the line. After the seniors had no more freshmen to throw at, they started wailing on each other and, man, was it ever time to get away from that place then. No one was safe.
You used to be so handsome - what happened? :-)
GWS,
It was
Cigarettes and whiskey and wild, wild women.
Not really but I like the way it sounds. :)
Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it. :)